Outdoor Oklahoma magazine is calling on the people who
experience the state's wildlife and outdoor heritage firsthand
to send in their best digital photos showcasing the state's
wildlife, landscapes, scenic and other outdoor imagery.

The annual "Readers' Photography Showcase" is featured in the
July/Aug issue of the official magazine of the Oklahoma
Department of Wildlife Conservation. Submissions are being
accepted through March 31. Participants whose photos are
selected will have their photos published in the magazine and
will also see their work posted throughout the year on the
Department's Facebook page at facebook.com/wildlifedepartment
and on its Twitter feed, @OKWildlifeDept.

"This is a great way for outdoor enthusiasts to see their
photography on display in a magazine produced by and for people
that love the outdoors," said Michael Bergin, information and
education specialist for the Wildlife Department and associate
editor of Outdoor Oklahoma magazine. "This is always a very cool
issue of Outdoor Oklahoma filled with great outdoor photos of
landscapes, wildlife, sportsmen in action and even cool sunsets,
storms or other snapshots of nature."

Each participant may submit up to five original digital images.
Each submission must include a description of the photo,
location taken, name and hometown of the photographer and what
it took for the photographer to get the right shot.

Photos should be in sharp focus, and images should be at least
300 dpi (dots per inch). The canvas size should be about 8
inches by 11 inches.

All submissions must be digital. Slides and print images will
not be accepted. Though images will remain the property of the
photographer, actual submissions that are emailed or mailed on
disc or other storage device will not be returned. Selected
photos may be printed in Outdoor Oklahoma magazine or posted on
the Wildlife Department's website or Facebook page.

Individuals can subscribe to Outdoor Oklahoma by calling 1 (800)
777-0019. Outdoor Oklahoma is known for providing decades of
outdoor entertainment to both youth and adults. Subscriptions
are just $10 for one year, $18 for two years, or $25 for three
years. Subscriptions also may be purchased by logging on to the
Department's website at wildlifedepartment.com. Hunters who
purchase a new Oklahoma Wildlife Management Area Atlas,
available from the Wildlife Department for $25, also receive a
one-year subscription to Outdoor Oklahoma magazine.

The best
competitive bass anglers in the world will convene on Grand Lake
of the Cherokees near Tulsa Feb. 22-24 to compete for $500,000
and the title of Bassmaster Classic champion.

The event is the Bassmaster
Classic, and it is equivalent to the Super Bowl or the World
Series of bass fishing. It is expected to draw 70,000 visitors
and account for more than 20,000 hotel nights in the region.
Even more important, the Classic should pump something to the
tune of $24 million dollars into the economy of Tulsa, Grove and
other communities around Grand Lake.

In addition to the prize
money and the most coveted title in competitive bass fishing,
the winner of the Classic can expect a range of inevitable
sponsorships.

"It really is the top prize
in professional bass fishing," said Gene Gilliland, assistant
chief of fisheries for the Wildlife Department. "It's easily the
biggest fishing event that will ever come to Oklahoma."

Fans are invited to help
kick off Classic competition at 7 a.m. Feb. 22 at Wolf Creek
Park on Grand Lake. All 53 qualifiers will launch there on the
first two days. The Feb. 24 finale will feature the Top 25
anglers, who will compete for the $500,000 first-place prize and
the Classic crown. Daily weigh-ins will be at the BOK Center in
downtown Tulsa, which will be filled with 15,000-18,000
spectators at each of the three events. Doors will open at 3
p.m.; the entire event is free.

Additionally, the Bassmaster
Classic Outdoors Expo presented by Dick's Sporting Goods will
take place at the Tulsa Convention Center from noon to 8 p.m.
Friday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday. The Expo will feature a range of shopping and
entertainment activities to visitors.

With over 15 hours of
national media attention on ESPN and ESPN2, the Classic will be
an enormous asset to the local economies and to the promotion of
fishing in Oklahoma, according to officials with the Wildlife
Department.

While expressing the
magnitude of the event, Gilliland also noted that the Classic
represents a tremendous opportunity for developing the region
further for recreational use by anglers and boaters.

"The Bassmaster Classic is
going to be a starting point for a lot of things that will be
happening in the Grand Lake area and 'Green Country' in
general," Gilliland said. "As big as Grand Lake is and as
popular as it is, it doesn't really have big-time boat launching
facilities. The City of Grove has stepped up and is cooperating
with us and some other partners to try to make that possible,
not only for the Bassmaster Classic, but for the future."

The Oklahoma Department of
Wildlife Conservation will be involved in the event by helping
with the live release of fish back into Grand Lake following
each weigh-in, through booth participation at the event expo, as
well as through an extensive project to help the host community
of Grove to develop world class fishing, boating and tournament
facilities on the lake.

Wolf Creek Park in Grove has
been renovated to provide six boat ramp lanes, parking for up to
300, restrooms, pavilions, a drive-through weigh-in station,
courtesy docks and more. The two-phase project will result in a
multi-million dollar, first-class facility for the public to
use.

"This facility being built
at Grand Lake is not just for the big level tournaments,"
Gilliland said. "But the City of Grove is trying to make
something that the local fishermen can use so that they have
some nicer facilities to be able to do some of their weigh-ins."

Over the course of the
two-phase project, the Wildlife Department will contribute about
$3 million, which will be combined with several million dollars
provided by the City of Grove, Oklahoma Department of
Transportation and the Grand River Dam Authority - which
operates the lake. The second phase of the project could include
other partners as well.

"It's a big deal," Gilliland
said. "I'm hoping that the folks at Lake Eufaula and at Lake
Texoma and Ft. Gibson and some of our other major reservoirs get
really jealous about seeing all this, because we'd like to do
this same kind of project at those lakes and put in some really
first-class facilities at other places around the state."

Lumberjacks, Hot Saws, Leaping Dogs and More - Much More - at
the Bassmaster Classic (February 13, 2013)From the news editors at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife
Conservation - The Bassmaster Classic is slated for Feb. 22-24
and will feature the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo in Tulsa.
Make sure you come by the Wildlife Department's booth at the
event. Show us your fishing license to receive a free,
newly-updated "Lakes of Oklahoma" water atlas. More information
is available below in this news release courtesy of B.A.S.S.

With less than a month to go until the Feb. 22-24 Bassmaster
Classic presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, B.A.S.S.
LLC and its many partners have been building on the list of free
bonus entertainment for fans lucky enough to be in Tulsa, Okla.,
to watch the world championship.

One of the newest additions is the Outdoor Games Zone. Its
anchor is a 30,000-gallon swimming pool - for dogs, that is. The
pool is for the Super Retriever Series (SRS) Eukanuba Super Dock
event, a dog-jumping competition that Classic fans can watch and
follow over the same three days of angler competition. Not all
the dogs will be Labradors, but all can jump, and spectacularly
so.

Just for Classic fans, the SRS event organizer, Dancin' Dog
Productions of Little Rock, Ark., is adding an audience
participation segment. Fans selected from the audience will be
given the opportunity to get up on the Zone stage and experience
a little something of what it takes to get a dog to jump as far
as it can over - and into - water.

Other fun segments are planned, such as Ducks and Dogs and
Casting with Pro Fishermen. Pool activities will change
frequently.

Also in the Zone will be the Daisy Inflatable Shooting Education
Range. Trained volunteers from the National Wild Turkey
Federation will be on hand to show kids ages 10 and up how to
safely handle and fire BBs from a Daisy airgun. The Daisy range
is a fully enclosed tunnel, and an adult volunteer will stay
with each child. Kids will receive their paper targets to take
home.

The Zone will be open from noon to 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22; 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23; and 10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 24.

The Outdoor Games Zone will be just one section of the
150,000-square-foot, 180-exhibitor Bassmaster Classic Outdoors
Expo presented by Dick's Sporting Goods in the Tulsa Convention
Center. The free-admission Expo will be open noon to 8
p.m.Friday, Feb. 22; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday Feb. 23; and 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24. The Tulsa Convention Center is
in downtown Tulsa (100 Civic Center, Tulsa, OK 74103).

Just across the street, the air will be abuzz inside the BOK
Center, the venue for the daily weigh-in shows. At least part of
the high energy on Saturday and Sunday will be provided by the
Timberworks Lumberjack Show powered by STIHL. Experts will show
off their timber skills in events like Hot Saw, Speed Carving
and Axe Throw, just to name three. The show will be presented
Feb. 23 and 24 as part of the free pre-weigh-in entertainment.
BOK Center doors will open at 3 p.m. each day.

Returning in 2013 is the collegiate braggin' rights event that's
been a hit at several past Classic weigh-in shows. Anglers from
the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series will compete Sunday, Feb.
24, to take home the good-for-one-year boast of being "College
Classic champ." Last year's winner, Arkansas, will defend its
title against Oklahoma University and Oklahoma State University.
Each school will field three two-student teams. The highest
combined weight will win the trophy for the team.

There are two more important Classic items - quieter, perhaps,
but with big impacts. One stems from a Classic partnership with
Folds of Honor, a not-for-profit organization with the mission
to give something back to the families of soldiers who were
killed or disabled. Donations will be accepted at the BOK
Center, and Fold of Honor also will have a booth at the Expo.
The second activity will be collections of non-perishable food
items by the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. The food
bank partners with multiple local organizations to distribute
the food.

Fans, of course, are invited to help kick off Classic
competition at 7 a.m. Feb. 22 at Wolf Creek Park on Grand Lake
O' the Cherokees. All 53 qualifiers will launch there on the
first two days. The Feb. 24 finale will feature the Top 25
anglers, who will compete for the $500,000 first-place prize and
the Classic crown. Daily weigh-ins will be at the BOK Center in
downtown Tulsa. Doors will open at 3 p.m.; the entire event is
free.

For more than 40 years, B.A.S.S. has served as the authority on
bass fishing. The organization advances the sport through
advocacy, outreach and an expansive tournament structure while
connecting directly with the passionate community of bass
anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.

The Bassmaster brand and its multimedia platforms are guided by
a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its
industry-leading publications - Bassmaster Magazine and B.A.S.S.
Times - comprehensive website Bassmaster.com and ESPN2 and
Outdoor Channel television programming, Bassmaster provides
rich, leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) in coordination
with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is proposing to
replace a bridge on State Highway 99 (SH-99) within the Hula
Wildlife Management Area (HWMA). The truss bridge is over Pond
Creek located 5.1 miles north of the SH-10 junction in Osage
County. Right-of-way within the HWMA will be required in order
to reconstruct this bridge. Due to the proposed transportation
use of property located with the HWMA, Section 4(f) regulations
of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act of 1966 apply to
the project. Section 4(f) affords protection to publicly-owned
recreation areas (resources) including city, state, and national
parks, wildlife refuges and management areas and historic sites.
ODOT has coordinated with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife
Conservation (ODWC) and United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
with regard to avoidance and minimization of impacts of this
project on the HWMA and the ODWC and USACE are supportive of
these measures. This will be accomplished in part by
constructing the new bridge on a slightly offset alignment to
the west, one-half at a time to minimize impacts and
right-of-way. The existing SH-99 roadway will be utilized to
maintain existing traffic during construction. This allows for
minimal use of property located within the WWMA and accommodates
local traffic. ODOT is proposing to obtain approximately 4.42
acres of the 21,505 acre Hulah WMA, which constitutes less than
0.020 percent of the wildlife management area. The use of
appropriate best management practices (including storm water,
erosion and dust control, and chemical/fuel handling) will be
conscientiously implemented.
Based on the avoidance and minimization of impacts to the HWMA
as described above, the ODOT, in coordination with FHWA, are
proposing a de minimis impact finding with regard to Section
4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act (1966). ODOT
welcomes your comments on the effects of this project on the
projected activities, features, and attributes of the HWMA (the
Section 4(f) resource). Please mail or e-mail any comments you
have by March 18, 2013 to:
Mrs. Jennifer Koscelny
Able Consulting
9225 North 133rd East Avenue
Owasso, Oklahoma 74055jkoscelny@cox.net

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) in coordination
with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is proposing to
replace a bridge on State Highway 99 (SH-99) within the Hula
Wildlife Management Area (HWMA). The truss bridge is over the
Caney River located 7.5 miles north of the SH-10 junction in
Osage County. Right-of-way within the HWMA will be required in
order to reconstruct this bridge. Due to the proposed
transportation use of property located with the HWMA, Section
4(f) regulations of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act of
1966 apply to the project. Section 4(f) affords protection to
publicly-owned recreation areas (resources) including city,
state, and national parks, wildlife refuges and management areas
and historic sites.
ODOT has coordinated with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife
Conservation (ODWC) and United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
with regard to avoidance and minimization of impacts of this
project on the HWMA and the ODWC and USACE are supportive of
these measures. This will be accomplished in part by
constructing the new bridge on a slightly offset alignment to
the west, one-half at a time to minimize impacts and
right-of-way. The existing SH-99 roadway will be utilized to
maintain existing traffic during construction. This allows for
minimal use of property located within the WWMA and accommodates
local traffic. ODOT is proposing to obtain approximately 6.55
acres of the 21,505 acre Hulah WMA, which constitutes less than
0.030 percent of the wildlife management area. The use of
appropriate best management practices (including storm water,
erosion and dust control, and chemical/fuel handling) will be
conscientiously implemented.
Based on the avoidance and minimization of impacts to the HWMA
as described above, the ODOT, in coordination with FHWA, are
proposing a de minimis impact finding with regard to Section
4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act (1966). ODOT
welcomes your comments on the effects of this project on the
projected activities, features, and attributes of the HWMA (the
Section 4(f) resource). Please mail or e-mail any comments you
have by March 18, 2013 to:
Mrs. Jennifer Koscelny
Able Consulting
9225 North 133rd East Avenue
Owasso, Oklahoma 74055
jkoscelny@cox.net

The Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation
Commission met Feb. 5 and voted to approve a slate of hunting
and fishing related rule changes to go into effect this year.
Some of the Commission's most notable actions at its meeting
included unanimously withdrawing a proposal to change the
structure of the antlered deer harvest limit, rejecting a
proposal to lower the age limit on youth deer and turkey season
participation, creating a new fall turkey hunting opportunity
for youth and amending a proposal to change rules regarding the
transportation of bait.
The actions taken by the Commission come after a
wave of feedback received during a public comment period held by
the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation from Dec. 3 to
Jan. 11. The Wildlife Department received thousands of comments
on the list of law change proposals up for consideration this
year. Officials confirmed that input from the public always
plays an important role in the decision-making process, but this
year sportsmen were especially vocal on certain issues.
"People in Oklahoma take their hunting and fishing
very seriously," said Alan Peoples, chief of wildlife for the
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. "And they're
passionate, and we heard them."
Every year, feedback collected during the official
public comment period plays an important role in the process.
This year, one proposal was withdrawn that, had it been
approved, would have restricted hunters' annual antlered deer
limit to one buck during muzzleloader and gun seasons combined.
With no changes made to the current rules, hunters will continue
to be allowed two bucks as part of their combined season limit
that spans archery, muzzleloader and gun seasons.
By rejecting the proposal to lower the current age
requirements for youth deer and turkey seasons, youth seasons
will remain open to those under 18 years of age. Additionally,
youth will now be able to harvest a turkey during the youth deer
gun season if hunting in a county that is open to rifle hunting
during the fall turkey gun season. Turkeys harvested during this
season are not "bonus" turkeys and do count toward the youth
hunters' fall turkey season harvest limit.
Another proposal that would have prohibited the
transport of live bait from any body of water was amended to
specify no transport of bait only from reservoirs known to have
silver and bighead carp. These non-native, invasive fish can be
difficult to distinguish from shad when castnetting for bait,
and they can outcompete native species for resources and wreak
havoc on fisheries when established in a body of water. The
revised language will allow the Wildlife Department to modify
and update the list of applicable lakes each year in the
Oklahoma Fishing Guide. The rule only applies to "waters of the
state" and does not include private waters and farm ponds.
"In so doing, we can make it possible for anglers to
transport bait from lakes where there currently aren't any known
infestations of bighead or silver carp, but if we discover any
then we can update the list of lakes from which transporting
bait is prohibited," said Barry Bolton, chief of fisheries for
the Wildlife Department.
Bolton said nearly 400 comments were received on the
bait transportation proposal alone during the public comment
period, and that the amendment was made after "careful
consideration of all the comments and biological
considerations."
While complete details will be available in the next
Oklahoma Hunting and Fishing Guides, a listing of the changes
approved by the Commission at its February meeting will be made
available online at wildlifedepartment.com.
In other business, the Commission heard a
presentation on the Wildlife Department's new scholastic
shooting sports program, which is being added to a suite of
other outdoor education programs currently offered to schools by
the Department. Through the program, educators and instructors
at certain schools and FFA organizations will be trained and
certified by the Wildlife Department's Shotgun Training and
Education Program (STEP) to implement the program in their
schools. Students who receive the training will have the
opportunity to learn safe gun handling as well as recreational
and competitive shotgun shooting.
The shooting sports program will initially be
piloted in 20 pre-selected schools that already participate in
either FFA shooting sports or the Department's outdoor education
suite, which includes the Archery in the Schools, Hunter
Education, Explore Bowhunting and Fishing in the Schools
programs.
Participating schools will receive a grant to help
purchase equipment for the program, thanks to a partnership with
the Oklahoma Station Chapter of Safari Club International, which
donated $20,000 to kick off the pilot program.
"Through this program we are hoping to build
camaraderie like students would in any other school sport, as
well as build outdoor skills and foster appreciation for the
outdoors in our youth," said Damon Springer, STEP coordinator
for the Wildlife Department.
According to Springer, another goal of the program
will be continuing to provide support for the FFA sporting clays
program.
Early surveys of educators involved in the
Department's outdoor education programs indicate interest in the
scholastic shooting sports program is high among schools, and
the Department plans to expand the program after the pilot year.
The Department's other education programs have
enjoyed significant growth and expansion into schools in recent
years, such as the Archery in the Schools Program which has
grown over a 10-year period from its original 10 pilot schools
to about 400 schools across the state that participate today.
The Hunter Education program, which has educated tens of
thousands of sportsmen over the years and is credited for a
reduction in hunting-related accidents in recent decades, has
been and continues to be used widely as in-class curriculum in
Oklahoma schools, and the Explore Bowhunting program builds on
the Archery in the Schools program by focusing on the hunting
aspect of the sport of archery. Also, the Fishing in the Schools
program implements the Wildlife Department Aquatic Resource
Education program to teach students in schools about fishing for
recreation and conservation.
To learn more about how educators and schools can
become involved with the Wildlife Department's outdoor education
suite, contact Colin Berg, education supervisor for the Wildlife
Department, at (918) 299-2334.
The Commission also heard a presentation from
Richard Hatcher, director of the Wildlife Department,
recognizing Lt. Frank Huebert, game warden supervisor stationed
in Major Co., for 35 years of service to the Wildlife
Department, and Charmion Rose, payroll and benefits specialist
for the Department, for 20 years of service.
The Wildlife Conservation Commission is the
eight-member governing board of the Oklahoma Department of
Wildlife Conservation. The Wildlife Commission establishes state
hunting and fishing regulations, sets policy for the Wildlife
Department and indirectly oversees all state fish and wildlife
conservation activities. Commission members are appointed by the
governor and confirmed by the Senate.
The next scheduled Commission meeting is set for 9
a.m. March 4, at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife
Conservation headquarters (auditorium), located at the southwest
corner of 18th and North Lincoln, Oklahoma City.

Bidding
now open for two ODWC owned Ag Leases (February 6, 2013)
The Commission of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife
Conservation (ODWC) invites interested parties to submit sealed
bids for two agricultural leases in the state for use by summer
and fall crops. The first lease of interest is the Lower
Illinois River Public Fishing and Hunting Area, Watts Unit for a
5 year lease. This property is lease # W1, details for the Lower
Illinois River lease can be found here (PDF). The second lease
includes land in the McClellan-Kerr Wildlife Management Area for
a five crop year period. McClellan is lease # MK11, details on
this property can be found here (PDF). Bids open February 5,
2013 and 2:00 p.m.

In November, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a
"threatened" listing for the lesser prairie chicken, an upland
bird native to western and northwest Oklahoma. If the proposal
advances to a final listing, then additional federal regulations
and oversight can apply to landowners in the bird's native range
that may affect what happens on their property or how it may be
used.

A federal ruling is expected by the end of September 2013, and
landowners in certain western and northwest Oklahoma counties
may be eligible for free participation in an agreement that will
protect what they can do on their land if the bird is listed.
The newly created agreement is called the Candidate Conservation
Agreement with Assurances Program (CCAA). Landowners with
approved management plans in place with the CCAA before a final
listing decision is made will have the guarantee of assurances
against certain liabilities and federal restrictions in the
event that the lesser prairie chicken is listed as a threatened
or endangered species. The CCAA permit is issued to the Oklahoma
Department of Wildlife Conservation by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, and the Wildlife Department will include
participating landowners under the permit.

"This is a significant step toward securing not only
long-lasting conservation efforts for the species, but it also
provides an avenue for certainty for landowers should the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service confirm its proposed listing of
'threatened,'" said Gary Sherrer, Oklahoma secretary of the
environment.

Enrolled landowners and Wildlife Department biologists will
collaborate on a wildlife management plan specific to the
property enrolled, which may include efforts such as red cedar
removal, fence marking and grazing management, among others. In
return, landowners who enroll and participate receive the
assurances offered by the permit. The CCAA is designed to
conserve lesser prairie chickens and their habitat while
minimizing impacts that a federal listing would have on
landowners in the eligible region.

"The CCAA is like insurance for landowners in case the lesser
prairie chicken is listed," said Wade Free, assistant director
of the Wildlife Department. "It provides assurances that the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will not be able to add
additional requirements to landowners."

The CCAA is a voluntary program, and participation is not
dependent on the presence or absence of lesser prairie chickens
on the enrolled property. Through the program, landowners agree
to perform certain habitat work to benefit lesser prairie
chickens in exchange for the assurances provided under the
Certificate of Inclusion.

"The Agricultural Candidate Conservation Agreement with
Assurances (CCAA) reached between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is
a solid step toward appropriately managing the lesser prairie
chicken on a state and local level in Oklahoma," said U.S. Sen.
Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.). "This key agreement allows landowners in
14 western Oklahoma counties the opportunity to voluntarily work
with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation to take
steps to conserve the lesser prairie chicken and its habitat on
their property in exchange for assurances against land use
restrictions. As Oklahoma's state agencies, job creators, and
land owners continue to work to address the lesser prairie
chicken, I will continue to work with them to protect our jobs
and hold sacred our private property rights. It is my hope that
these and other actions taken by private landowners and the
state will be sufficient to prevent a listing of the lesser
prairie chicken under the Endangered Species Act."

The Wildlife Department does not issue incentive payments to
landowners for participation in the program. Participation is
free for landowners, and landowners may opt out at any time.

Officials with the Wildlife Department say conservation measures
accomplished through the program could even help convince the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that a final listing is not
warranted.

For more information or to enroll, contact one of the following
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation personnel: Doug
Schoeling, (405) 301-9945; Alva Gregory, (580) 334-4459; or Matt
Fullerton, (580) 571-5820.

For more information, or to see a copy of the Agricultural CCAA
or a sample management plan, log on to wildlifedepartment.com.

With another season of duck hunting now in the books, many of
the state's waterfowl hunters have reported a season of overall
fewer ducks and geese, and limited to mixed hunting success.

Pre-season surveys in the northern United States and Canada
indicated last spring's duck population was at an all-time high
of 48.6 million birds. But the number of ducks and geese in
Oklahoma during the first week of January appeared to be lower
compared to the same period in 2012, said state Wildlife
Department personnel who participated in the annual Mid-Winter
Waterfowl Population Survey conducted by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. However, the reason for the lackluster season
was not necessarily due to the overall bird population.

"This year, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma seem to be in the
worst shape, as far as habitat for waterfowl," said Terry
Liddick of Spearfish, S.D., a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
pilot-biologist who flew a survey aircraft this winter in
Oklahoma.

The situation that hunters have faced this year was similar to
or worse than what they experienced in the 2011-12 season, said
Josh Richardson, migratory game bird biologist with the Oklahoma
Department of Wildlife Conservation. "It's unfortunate our local
conditions the past two years have made for average to
below-average hunting seasons in Oklahoma," he said.

Read almost any edition of ODWC's biweekly Waterfowl Report this
season, and the most prevalent words have been "poor," "low" and
"below normal."

Again this year, the Department partnered with the federal
agency to conduct the waterfowl survey in Oklahoma. Richardson
and Jeff Neal, a migratory game bird technician with ODWC, spend
about 50 hours in two small aircraft as observers from Jan. 7 to
Jan. 14, flying low and slow across the state to count waterfowl
and other migratory birds.

Richardson, who surveyed western areas of Oklahoma, said he
counted fewer ducks and geese this year than he has in recent
years. His preliminary numbers this year are about 40 percent
less than his survey results from last year.

Richardson said what he saw on his survey flights was "pretty
discouraging," with poor habitat conditions across western
Oklahoma. He said when food and water are not plentiful, the
area will not hold waterfowl for very long. He speculates the
ongoing drought along with milder weather conditions have
conspired to keep many migratory birds from stopping over in, or
even reaching, Oklahoma.

Neal surveyed eastern areas of the state, and his observations
were mixed. Overall, though, Neal said waterfowl numbers seemed
to be below average. A few areas he surveyed were holding a
near-average number of ducks, where the habitat conditions were
close to normal. But many reservoir areas were in poor shape,
with great expanses of bare ground due to lack of water.

During last year's mid-winter aerial survey, Wildlife Department
surveyors both in aircraft and on the ground counted 293,175
ducks; 364,106 geese; 1,532 coots; 6,680 sandhill cranes; and
five swans in the state during the first week in January. And
while the total numbers from the latest survey are not yet
available, it's a safe bet that fewer ducks and geese were
counted this year.

Oklahoma's Department of Wildlife Conservation has teamed with
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in surveying waterfowl
populations for decades. The mid-winter aerial waterfowl count
conducted in January each year is one of the oldest wildlife
surveys, dating to the 1930s.

For the survey, teams of pilot-biologists and observers employ
aircraft to crisscross North America at tree-top level, counting
the number of ducks, geese and swans, and assessing the quality
and quantity of wetlands and breeding areas, while ground crews
cover additional areas. The survey flights are conducted within
a one-week period, weather permitting, across the U.S. so as to
minimize any double-counting of migrating birds.

These surveys are a model of partnership-driven conservation.
Analysis of the survey data helps determine the status of North
America's waterfowl populations and plays a significant role in
formulating annual waterfowl hunting regulations for the season
to come. Surveys such as these are vital tools that guide
decisions of waterfowl managers throughout North America.

SULPHUR, Okla. - Recent remarkable catches at Lake of the
Arbuckles have made a big splash in the local bass fishing
community. On successive weekends in January, the winners of
separate bass tournaments managed to haul in five-fish stringers
totaling more than 40 pounds each.

That means each of the five largemouth bass on these two
stringers weighed on average more than 8 pounds apiece!

The lunkers validate the fisheries management activities
conducted by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
over the previous decade at Lake of the Arbuckles.

"The ingredients that you need to produce trophy bass are
present in Arbuckle right now," said Gene Gilliland, assistant
chief of fisheries with the Wildlife Department. "I really like
seeing how Arbuckle has become quite a success story from a
fisheries management perspective."

During the Jan. 19 season-opening tournament held by Backyard
Bassin' Tournament Trail, anglers Jeff Reynolds and Johnny
Thompson scored a big win with a stringer weighing 42.04 pounds.
But they failed to win biggest-bass honors that day; that title
went to a fish weighing 10.7 pounds that was brought in by the
team of Marc Barber and Gary Rowland.

A week later on Jan. 26, Marco Vaca and Doyle Idleman won Future
Bass Team Trail's season opener. Their five-bass limit weighed
in at 41.92 pounds. Again, the winning team did not catch the
biggest bass of the day. Second-place team Reynolds and Thompson
weighed in a 10.65-pound lunker for the prize.

Gilliland said Arbuckles' big bass illustrate how proactive
fisheries management can yield great results over time.

"Historically, Arbuckle has not been a great bass fishery. It
was dominated by large numbers of small, slow-growing bass," he
said. "In the early 1990s, the Wildlife Department backed off on
stocking Florida strain largemouth in Arbuckle because there was
a period when the Department didn't have enough production from
the hatchery to stock Florida bass in very many lakes in the
state."

About a decade ago, as the hatcheries' Florida strain largemouth
production increased, the Wildlife Department resumed stocking
them in Arbuckle and other Oklahoma lakes to enhance the trophy
possibilities.

"Those fish have obviously matured," Gilliland said. "The fish
that we stocked, or the offspring of those stocked fish, are now
turning into these trophy bass that are being caught on a pretty
regular basis for about the past three years."

He said Lake of the Arbuckles has grown big bass because of the
favorable conditions found there. "You have good genetics from
the stocking program, good habitat, and good forage. Arbuckle
has a very good survival rate of young bass, and it's also a
lake where fish can live deep most of the year, avoiding
encounters with anglers and growing older and bigger.

"Catching those bigger fish gets pretty tough later in the year,
so the bass have a chance to grow up. I don't think that many
people realize how long it takes to produce an 8- to
10-pounder," he said.

Gilliland cited another factor that might be contributing to
angler success at Arbuckle.

"The fishing pressure has increased dramatically over the past
few years. On an 'angler per acre' level, Arbuckle gets
hammered," he said. "There may be just as many big bass in other
lakes where we have stocked Florida bass on a regular basis,
like Sardis or Broken Bow, but those fisheries are much bigger,"
which means the fishing pressure is spread across a larger area.

"When you have more anglers on a 2,300-acre fishery that is very
accessible, the chances of someone catching a big fish generally
go up," Gilliland said.

Oklahoma's bass fishing will be in the national spotlight in
late February as the world's greatest anglers gather at Grand
Lake northeast of Tulsa for the 2013 Bassmaster Classic
tournament, widely considered the Super Bowl of professional
bass fishing. The event is expected to lure as many as 70,000
people to the region, with a potential boost of about $24
million to the region's economy.